Freedom
by Lady GreyWolf
Summary: Narnia x HarryPotter x LotR. Twin-sisters Lucy and Mandy Diamond are heading to their first term at Hogwarts when they are brought to another part of the universe by a man known as King Edmund of Narnia - and this is the beginning of their adventure...
1. Portals in Diagon Alley

Lucy's eyes snapped open. She was sure that someone had been calling her name, though now when she'd woken up that seemed impossible; there was no one but her sister in the room at the _Leaky Cauldron_ and the voice had been too loud and clear to have come from someone outside.

She must have imagined it.

With a sigh she sat up and looked over at her sister. Mandy Diamond, her twin, was sleeping peacefully in her own bed, her black hair in a complete mess, as usual. Lucy smiled at the sight; somehow Mandy always made her smile, no matter what sort of trouble they'd gotten into.

She lay back down, but found that she was too alert to fall asleep. In her mind she told herself to just relax, but her body did the exact opposite and tensed.

With a groan, Lucy sat up and swung her long, pale legs over the edge of the bed. She'd always been the taller of the twins, though Mandy had been the stronger. Sometimes it was hard even for them to say that they were twins, because everyone expected twins to be a lot alike one another. Mandy and Lucy weren't; Lucy had golden-blonde hair, Mandy had black, they had different skins, were of different length and acted completely different.

Lucy shook her head at the thoughts, then walked over to the window to look out over the dark shops of Diagon Alley. Her new owl, Josephine, sat in her cage close by, her yellow eyes peering out in the same direction.

"You didn't hear anything, did you?" Lucy asked the horned owl, as if to assure herself that that voice really had been just her imagination. The owl did not answer.

"Great, now I'm talking to you and expect you to answer", Lucy muttered. "I hope this is all nerves."

Honestly, she was really nervous; the next day she and Mandy would get on the train leaving from King's Cross Station to go to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, for the first time. They had never been more excited than when they had received those two letters and their parents had joined them in their cheer, both of them having attended Hogwarts before.

Still, they had chosen not to come along to the station. Instead they had dropped them off at Diagon Alley and hugged and kissed them good-bye.

"You're going to be great, little one", Lucy remembered that her father had whispered in her ear. She had noticed how wet his brown eyes looked as he then walked away with their mother, who was weeping. As if something was about to happen to them, as if they weren't going to a school but into prison.

Lucy was just about to head back for bed when Josephine raised her wings and seemed to whistle, which woke Mandy's pygmy owl, Fannie, who started to squeak and peep while flapping its wings. Mandy groaned from her bed, rolled over and fell down on the floor with a heavy thud and a curse.

"What the hell is going on?" she groaned as she got to her feet and pushed the black hair out of her face.

"I don't know, I was just…"

"Why are they doing that?" Mandy continued, ignoring her sister (she had a tendency of doing that) and instead looking at the two birds. Both of them were looking out through the windows, down on Diagon Alley, and continued to make sounds as if to alert someone.

"Oh, shut up, you two!" Mandy groaned and smacked the cage belonging to Fannie. Lucy grabbed onto her arm.

"I think they wanted to show us that."

She pointed out through the window, down on the dark alley below, at a small plume of smoke that was rising in the middle of the street, seemingly without any source.

"What the hell…" Mandy muttered, before she was interrupted by a voice.

"Freedom…"

"That's the voice!" Lucy said, her eyes wide in surprise. "That's the voice that woke me up, but then it was saying my name instead…"

"So that pillar of smoke is the reason for all of this?" Mandy asked and glared at the two birds.

"I suppose."

Mandy then turned around and grabbed her coat, then put her feet into her new boots.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked.

"Since that thing's the reason for all of this, I'm going to make it stop so that I can have a decent night of sleep before we're so overloaded with homework that we won't have time for it", Mandy answered.

"But what if… what if that thing, or its origin, is dangerous?"

"Then they haven't met me yet", Mandy muttered. Lucy grimaced at the thought. She knew perfectly well that when Mandy had slept too little, she could be in a foul mood for hours, and she snapped at once when something didn't go her way.

"Well, then I'm coming with you", she said and put on her own boots. Mandy grinned in appreciation, before they both snuck out of their room and down the stairs. Tom, the bartender, was laying on the counter, snoring so loudly that he didn't even notice when the floorboards creaked under their boots.

Once outside, Mandy pulled up her wand and knocked on the special stone in the middle of the brick-wall. Earlier that day they had stared in wonder as the stones had moved aside, then moved back once they were through; now they didn't have time to stop and look at it again. Mandy stomped over to the pillar, put her hands on her hips and glared at it.

"Alright then, Smokey, who are you and why do you disturb us like this?" she asked.

The smoke did not answer.

"Oh, lost your tongue, have you?" Mandy continued. "Well, you could speak earlier, we heard that."

"Mandy, maybe it's better if I talk with… it", Lucy suggested. "You can be a bit… intimidating…"

"I have no idea what that word means, but sure, you have a go."

She took a step back and Lucy stepped up instead, frowning a bit at the pillar before her.

"Well, I… I thought you were calling for me earlier, that's why I woke", she said. "So, maybe you could tell us why?"

"Freedom?" the voice answered, sounding clearer than before.

"No, I'm Lucy", Lucy said. "But I guess that we have our freedom… I mean, we are free to do what we want, so…"

"No, you are Freedom", the voice interrupted.

"That's a name?" Mandy asked, stepping up again. "If you need to know, it sounds a bit Native American to me. Not that that's bad, but we're British and we have British names."

"Who's Freedom?" Lucy questioned, ignoring her sister's remarks.

"That's you."

"She's not", Mandy answered. "And look, it's not very funny to speak to a pillar of smoke, could you clear up a bit?"

"Very funny", the voice dryly said. "But no, I can't. The portals are closed from this part of the universe, only one's open that I know of and that one I can't access."

"What portals?" Lucy asked.

"Gateways to other places, you would have passed through the one I referred to tomorrow unless I'd contacted you now."

"What is this thing talking about?" Mandy muttered.

"Hey, I'm not a thing, I'm a person", the voice responded.

"Well, at the moment you look like a thing to me", Mandy bit back. "Come on, Lu, let's get back to bed."

"You said that we could pass through from here", Lucy said, still looking at the smoke.

"Yes."

"Oh, come one, you do not believe in that, do you?" Mandy exclaimed.

"There's no other logical explanation", Lucy pointed out. Mandy just muttered to herself, not wanting to receive another lecture from her twin.

"Alright, where is this… portal of yours?" she asked.

"I suppose it is in an alley", the voice answered.

"Oh, congratulations, we are in Diagon Alley, meaning that this thing would be… well, let me see, it could be just about anywhere!" Mandy remarked.

"Shut up, Mandy", Lucy said. "Is it in this alley or in one close by?"

"This one, I think this… smoke could lead you there. Let me see."

After a while, the smoke shifted and started to move. A triumphant shout was heard.

"Got it, it's going to lead you to the portal. You just need to pass through it and you'll be here, alright?"

"What about our things?" Lucy asked.

"And our owls, don't forget the owls", Mandy filled in.

"They'll come along, don't worry", the voice responded as the pillar moved further down Diagon Alley. Mandy rolled her eyes.

"This is insane."

"Well, you were the one that wanted to talk to it", Lucy remarked.

"And you were the one that it started to talk to", Mandy said, then grinned. "Guess we are in this together, sis."

The smoke had stopped in the middle of the road, close to Ollivander's shop. It then formed what seemed to be an archway.

"Ready?" Lucy asked.

"Can't be worse than a portkey", Mandy answered with a shrug. Then they grabbed hands and stepped forward.

Mandy was right; it was not worse than to travel with a portkey. In fact it was over before they had even realized it had happened.

They were now standing in a courtyard by a white castle, lit up by torches. Both the sound of waves and the smell of salt told them that they were close to the sea.

"Well, this was… unexpected", Mandy said.

"Really", Lucy agreed.

"There you are!" the familiar voice called. "I thought that you would be close to where I was, but obviously I had miscalculated that."

The man that came running towards them was in his twenties, had pitch-black hair falling down into his face and brown eyes. Both girls noticed that in his belt hang a sword, something that made them stare.

"Welcome to Narnia", he greeted. "And don't worry; you will have plenty of surprises here before you leave tomorrow."

"Where are we going tomorrow?" Mandy asked. "You just said that we couldn't go back to our world."

"Well, you won't, you will just be going over the Western Mountains", a second man said as he came forth. This one was blonde with dark-grey eyes and was somewhat older than the previous one, but the similar features in their faces told the twins that these two were also siblings.

"That's where you were heading to begin with", the blonde man finished.

"Hogwarts?" Lucy said, her eyes wide in surprise. "Hogwarts is just on the other side of those mountains?"

"It sure is", the black-haired one said. "Sorry, I should probably introduce us both. I am King Edmund the Just and this is my brother, High King Peter the Magnificent."

"No curtseys, thank you", Peter quickly said, noticing the girls' movements. "You are our guests and you have the same rank as the rest of us."

"Yeah, right", Mandy muttered. Peter smiled.

"Come, let's get you two inside to your rooms. You can meet the rest of the family tomorrow."

Once they were inside, he grabbed onto Lucy's arm, taking her in one direction, while Edmund dragged Mandy in the opposite.

"Sorry about that", Peter apologized. "But we have a lack of rooms at the moment, despite the size of Cair Paravel. The only two we had available were in different parts of the castle."

"So, this country, it's called Narnia?" Lucy carefully asked, peering up at the older man.

"Yes, and it's a part of the Magic Realm", Peter answered as he led her up a set of wide stairs covered in a red carpet. Lucy noticed that the borders of the carpet were decorated with golden lions, the pattern looking somewhat familiar. After a while, she settled on that she was thinking about the mark of Gryffindor.

"The reason that you are here is because of that you are eleven now, which means that you would come here for the first time and needed to be prepared", Peter continued his explanation.

"Prepared?"

"You were born in this world, but thanks to the danger you were sent away, to be raised in a different family. Same thing with young Mandy Diamond; the fact that you two were raised together is an omen that no one has been able to understand."

"You are talking in riddles", Lucy said and shrugged.

"You will find that you remember things about this place", Peter continued, ignoring her comment. "Patterns, places, maybe even people. But the most important thing you must know is this…"

He turned towards her and bent down so that their faces were inches apart.

"You are the daughter of Aslan."


	2. The Kings, the Queen & the Lion

The sun woke her up in the morning. Actually, she wasn't sure if it was morning or later in the day, because she did not know if her window pointed east or west.

Despite the tight schedule that King Peter had discussed with her during the night, she decided to stay in bed for a while, thinking about what had happened. When Peter had told her that her father was named Aslan, someone he had later titled the Great Lion, millions of questions had popped into her head.

"If my father is so powerful, why did he send me away?" was the first question she had uttered.

"Because he feared for your life", Peter had answered. "He had so many other responsibilities; this world has been in a complete chaos for the last few decades and this is not the only world that he is a part of. When he left you with your adoptive parents he swore to come and see you."

"I think I would have seen if a lion had wandered into my room", she had muttered.

"He might not have been a lion at that time", Peter had pointed out. "Once, when Edmund and my sister Lucy met him, he was in the shape of a lamb. He could have been there without you knowing it."

He had then moved on to discussing the fact that Aslan was currently in Narnia, waiting for her so that he could tell her more of what she needed to do.

"We will head to his camp in the morrow", he had finished. "Until then I suggest you get some rest."

And, well, she did feel rested, though still confused. She had always been Lucy Diamond, but here everyone referred to her as Freedom. With a groan, she leaned back against the pillows.

The sound of someone falling over outside her door, followed by a series of curses and apologies, made her sit up straight once again. One moment later Mandy came into the room.

"I just ran over a large mouse posted by your door", she remarked.

"What?"

Lucy swung her legs over the bedside and rushed out into the corridor in her nightshirt. And sure enough; outside her door stood a mouse, reaching up to her knees when he straightened. He bowed deeply towards her.

"Good morrow, my noble Lady", he said. "I am Reepicheep, Knight of Narnia, and I have come with your father, the Great Lion, from his kingdom in the East and West to assist you."

Lucy stared at him openmouthed for a while, before she realized how rude that must be and quickly regained her composure.

"You've got a knight?" Mandy said and pouted. "Why can't I have one?"

Lucy didn't answer; instead she headed back into her room and fell down onto her bed with a groan.

"This is getting too confusing."

"Come on", Mandy said and smiled. "You know, I always had the feeling that we were extremely different from our parents, and now here's the answer; we were adopted."

"How can you look at it so… indifferently?" Lucy asked. Mandy shrugged.

"Life's an adventure, you've just got to live it", she answered and rose, walking over to the closet. "Now, let's get you into some clothes and then get you down to get some breakfast. By the way, this castle is full of strange people, not only talking animals like Reepicheep. There are half-goats, half-bulls, sometimes there are leaves that shape themselves into a human…"

While she talked, she pulled out clothes from the gigantic wardrobe, studied them and hung them back until she had found a match that she was pleased with. Lucy wished that she could just wear her new Hogwarts-uniform.

"There", Mandy said, finishing up her creation by adding a black belt with golden details. Lucy grimaced; basically everything that Mandy had chosen for her had somewhat golden on it.

"It matches your hair", her sister pointed out. "You've always been gold and I've been silver, it's been easier that way. Come on, get dressed; I'm starving!"

Lucy sighed and reluctantly agreed. A short while later she was wearing a pair of dark pants, a light-blue blouse with golden vines on its shoulders, black boots and a dark cloak with golden seams, along with the black-and-golden belt.

"Pleased?" she asked.

"Yep", Mandy answered. "Wish they had another color for your shirt, though; blue's my color, not yours."

Then she headed out through the door again.

"Reepicheep, will you join us for breakfast?" she asked.

"I would be delighted", the mouse answered and lead the way through the corridors.

"How come you just seem to know _everyone_ in this castle?" Lucy hissed as Mandy kept greeting the people that they met.

"Well, I couldn't sleep much in the night so I went exploring", Mandy answered. "You won't believe what stories they have told me!"

"Those we can talk about later", Lucy muttered.

"You woke up in a foul mode today?" Mandy asked with a raised eyebrow. "Not like you to be like this on the first day of school."

Lucy didn't respond; her sister obviously found this a lot more exciting than she did.

In the Great Hall of Cair Paravel were several tables filled with royals. It seemed like everyone was wearing some sort of crown. At the end, though, there was a table with fewer thrones than the others; Lucy counted eleven chairs, but three of them were empty. In the others sat four Queens and five Kings, two of those were Peter and Edmund. Edmund was the one to notice them and rise, waving at them to come forward.

"You're dining with us", he said and helped first Lucy, then Mandy get into an empty chair each. "Hope you slept well."

"Reepicheep, you may use my husband's chair", a woman with glistening hair and skin said, gesturing towards the last empty chair at the table. The mouse bowed.

"My noble thanks, Your Highness", he said and climbed up, seating himself on the armrest as to be able to reach over the side of the table.

"I suppose that I should be the one to introduce everyone", Peter said and rose. "This is my sister, Queen Lucy the Valiant."

The brunette next to him smiled.

"Then there's my cousin, King Eustace, and Queen Jill, and further down to my left you can see King Digory and Queen Polly, the first two to venture into Narnia."

He then turned towards the pale, glistening woman, who was sitting at the edge of the table to his right.

"And this is Queen Lilliandil, the Daughter of the Stars and the wife of King Caspian, who, unfortunately, is absent at this table."

"Why is he absent?" Lucy asked and turned towards the pale Queen.

"Since my husband found the sea-road leading to Aslan's Kingdom he has been bewitched by the wonders of the ocean and the Far East", Lilliandil answered.

"I'm afraid, Your Highness, that while I travelled with Aslan back here we did not meet His Highness King Caspian", Reepicheep said solemnly. "Though, as we travelled to the Grey Havens, we might have missed him by that cause."

Lilliandil nodded and looked down at her plate of fresh food.

"How long has he been gone?" Lucy asked silently.

"Five months and two days", Edmund answered. "It is the longest journey he has made so far, which is why we are all concerned about the fate of him and his crew."

Lucy shivered, as if from a cold.

"Are you cold, my Lady?" Reepicheep asked. "I can ask someone to fetch you a blanket."

"No, Reepicheep, I'm fine", Lucy responded and managed to smile. Though she didn't feel hungry anymore and pushed the plate away. Peter cleared his throat.

"Well, let us all finish up our breakfast and head west", he said. "I have a feeling that the sooner we reach Aslan's camp the better."

"I agree, Peter", Queen Lucy said and rose as well. "I'll see to that we have horses ready for us."

The ride to Aslan's camp took them little over an hour. The gloomy mood created during breakfast stayed with them and no one spoke much during the ride, until they halted up on a hill to gaze down on the camp. There were around fifty tents of various sizes, all of them red with golden details and flags portraying a lion flapping from their roofs. Peter led the way down, being greeted as an old friend by different members of the camp. He greeted them as well, but it soon became obvious how worried he really was.

"Oreious", he said as they halted by the largest of the tents, which stood by itself at the edge of the camp. The black centaur made a bow in the King's direction.

"An honor to see you again, my King", the centaur said in his deep voice. "Aslan has been waiting for your arrival."

His dark eyes looked at Lucy for a while, before he turned back towards Peter.

"The two girls may enter, along with the High Kings and the High Queen."

Peter and his siblings immediately dismounted, as did Mandy and Lucy. Lucy kept her gaze on the ground as they walked closer to the tent, her heart hammering in her chest.

The red cloth fell down behind her and shut out the noise of the camp.

"Oh my God", she heard Mandy whisper and when glancing at the dark-haired girl, she saw how wide her eyes were. Quickly she followed her gaze and saw what had been so shocking; in the other end of the tent stood a male lion, as high as a smaller horse. His fur shone like gold while his mane was like bronze and his eyes were of a deep, dark-blue color.

"Aslan", Queen Lucy said and walked forward, kissing the lion in the face with deep affection. The lion let out a rumbling, low laugh and leaned into the woman's embrace, before his gaze turned towards Peter and Edmund. The two Kings bowed deeply.

"You have done well, my sons", the lion said.

Then his gaze shifted towards Mandy and Lucy, who stood somewhat behind the royals. For a moment his shape seemed to tremble when he watched them, then he walked forward.

There was such a familiarity in the movements that Lucy felt like crying and laughing at the same time. Mandy followed his steps with just as much curiosity, though for some reason Lucy thought that the other girl looked slightly afraid.

"Dear children", the lion said in his deep voice. "Welcome home."

He turned towards Mandy before any of them had answered.

"You will find your family further south, my child, but your true home will always lie in the North. Therefore you must be ready to harden yourself. Can you do that?"

"I hope so", Mandy answered, her voice trembling.

Then Aslan did something that Lucy had not expected; he breathed out on her friend, who closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, and when she looked up again the fear was gone from her eyes.

"Thank you, my lord", she said. Aslan bowed his head in her direction, before he turned towards Lucy. His shape trembled yet again and for a moment, Lucy thought she saw a man and not a lion in its place. It made her frown.

"My child", he said, his voice low. "My child, do you remember me?"

Lucy looked at him for a while and noticed a new emotion in his blue eyes; there was fear. Almost as if he was afraid that she would resent him, throw him aside and not acknowledge him. Slowly she took a step forward and placed a hand on the side of his head, tangling her fingers with his mane. It felt vaguely familiar; almost as if she had done this a long time ago.

A memory blasted through her head and she looked up at a man with bronze-colored hair. He was cradling her in his arms and tears were falling from his blue eyes.

"I love you so much, Free", he whispered. "Please, please forgive me for doing this."

Then he let her go.

She snapped back to reality and saw the same kind of tears falling from the lion's eyes, and his mane had the same color as the hair of the man in her memory.

"Father?"

Her voice was barely a whisper, but Aslan heard it and turned his head towards her.

"You remember me?" he asked. She nodded, biting her lip to keep the tears from coming. She failed; while the tears started to fall she threw her arms around the lion's neck and hugged him.

In that moment he seemed to change; his body trembled under her touch for a few moments before it stopped and she felt a pair of human arms wrapping themselves around her back, holding her close as their owner cried. The gasp from the others in the tent told her that the change really had occurred and when she pulled back stood the man from her memory there instead of the lion. Also now he was crying, his blue eyes glistening, but through this he was smiling.

"Oh, how I've longed for you, Freedom", he whispered and embraced her again.

And in that moment she knew that that truly was her name.


	3. Of Myth and Destiny

The forest of Mirkwood had long since been described as one of the darkest places in the Magic Realm. Thus few had chosen to venture as deep in among the trees as the pale woman was now. She walked lightly but with her head held high, her shoulders pushed back and wrapped in a cloak made of black wool that matched her dark hair. Her blue eyes, so blue that they could have been painted, noticed every single move that the trees and the dark, hidden creatures made around her. She was not afraid; they would never hurt her. They knew that if they did they would face an end more terrible than death.

The woman eventually reached her goal; a lake far to the east shrouded in mist no matter the time of the year or day. She walked out onto an old bridge, knelt down and touched the water. Where her fingers met the surface the liquid instantly froze, creating a bridge out into the mist. She stepped out on it and walked across the water until she reached the other end; a rocky island in the middle of the lake. As she stepped onto the ground the bridge of ice vanished once more.

There were men and women everywhere on this island, all of them ready for war. All she had to do was give them the signal to move out, but things had changed. This was not the time.

"Your Highness", a man with the four red runes of a captain said. He made a deep bow as she turned towards him.

"What do you need, Your Highness?" he asked.

"I need to see my daughter", the woman answered. "Something has… appeared out of nowhere, so to say."

She moved past him, aiming towards the entrance of a cave. A soldier handed her a torch, which she absentmindedly grabbed as she moved down into the darkness. Here, in the centre of the island, where no soldiers. This was a place for the royals, a sacred hallway leading up to a sacred room.

"I knew you were coming."

The blonde woman casually turned around as the dark one entered the final cave, which was round and lit up by thirteen torches.

"What does the all so powerful Queen Nânire want this time?"

The tone was mocking, annoyed. Nânire ignored it and placed her torch on an empty holder on the wall. Her daughter was still young, still craving the battles and the blood of their enemies. She had yet to learn patience.

"I assume you already know that something has happened, my daughter?" she asked and pulled off her cloak as well.

"They are only girls", the blonde woman answered and sat down on a throne made of black stone. "We can wipe them out easily."

"Is that all you have seen?" Nânire asked, her blue eyes glowing. Her daughter shrugged.

"I got bored after that."

"Then you missed the point. One of them is the daughter of Aslan himself and she caused him to change back into his original form."

"She is untrained, mother! Family-bonds are strong but she is too young to know anything of magic. Was she not headed for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for her first year just now?"

"She is a creature made of magic", Nânire said and sat down on a throne made of white stones. "She was born out of pure magic."

Her daughter frowned and Nânire laughed a dry, unhappy laugh.

"You did not know?" she asked. "This girl is the daughter of Aslan and the love of his life; Cortina. Cortina was a magician from the Lands Beyond the Sea who worked with her people to create weapons out of the Four Veils. In the end she had to sacrifice herself to give this power to her people and Aslan was furious when he heard of this. He tore the last veil, the Golden Veil, to pieces and only handed the smaller piece to Cortina's people, keeping the bigger piece to himself."

"Mother, if you are saying that Aslan created a soul out of that you are mistaken", her daughter said. "Not even a God like Aslan can do that."

"No, Alwerna", Nânire answered. "He did not create a soul. He _mended_ one."

She briefly paused.

"At this time, in another world, a Guardian named Taralyn had been guarding an infant boy known to the men as the True Seeker. Thanks to a war the boy's grandfather brought him away to safety while Taralyn stayed with the mother, a woman named Nerinda, and the boy's twin-sister. When the soldiers of the enemy entered their village Nerinda and Taralyn tried to flee with the baby. In the end the soldiers caught up with them and burned Nerinda alive, while Taralyn fled with the girl. The Guardian was so moved by Nerinda's brave heart that she brought the burned soul to Aslan and told him the story. He mended it with the Golden Veil and sent it to be reborn, as his daughter."

"Mother, despite all this the girl does not know of these powers yet", Alwerna said after a moment. "We can wipe her out, right now, before things get any worse."

"That is not all, Alwerna", Nânire interrupted, a cold tone in her voice. "Did you not see the other girl, the one with the strong will and raven hair? She has the soul of a Maiar."

"The Maiar are wiped out", Alwerna protested.

"No, there are still some alive, hiding from us where we cannot see. The White was not the last one to bring down and now here is one we did not even think existed. No, my daughter, we cannot strike at them just yet. We have to be patient and see what they are capable of."

Nânire rose from the throne and started to walk out of the room. She could hear her daughter follow. As they reached the surface the men and women they commanded all bowed.

"What shall we do, then?" Alwerna asked. "We cannot leave this be, mother."

Nânire turned towards the woods she knew where on the shore for a moment. Somewhere out there was the Boundary between the North and the South and in order to even get close to these girls they needed to cross it. Slowly she began to smile.

"We won't", she said and turned towards her daughter once more. "Go north, Alwerna. Bring a small group of your most trusted men with you and monitor the girls. Only attack to test them, not to kill them. We need to know what they are capable of."

Everywhere they went people bowed towards them. Mandy seemed to enjoy the attention. Freedom, on the other hand, only stayed because she needed to speak with her father. She had never enjoyed being put on a pedestal.

"Is it always like this?" she eventually asked. "With the bows and… well, all of it."

Aslan laughed slightly. Upon leaving his tent he had returned to the shape of a lion, in order to not startle his men. Few had seen him in his human form and he had actually come to prefer his life as a lion.

"No, it's not always like this", he answered. "Right now they prefer this way of treating you, but if you prove yourself an equal they will treat you differently."

"Like this is bad", Mandy huffed and grinned. Freedom rolled her eyes at her and lengthened her steps when she spotted the three royals from Cair Paravel. Peter turned around as they approached.

"Aslan", he said, sounding quite relieved to see that he was back as a lion. "An eagle just arrived. He carried an important message from Lady Galadriel."

"Lady Galadriel?" Freedom asked.

"Queen of the Elves", Edmund clarified.

"Whoa, elves?" Mandy gasped.

"What was her message, King Peter?" Aslan asked. Peter looked troubled as he answered.

"They have found the White Wizard, Sir. His body was spotted up on a cliff close to Caradhras. It did not look like he had made…"

He was interrupted by the sound of a neighing horse. Both Freedom and Mandy frowned when they saw the rest of the group looking up into the sky.

"What are they… oh!" Mandy gasped. Aiming towards them were three horses, soaring through the sky faster than the fastest of birds. They were muscular with broad necks, but thanks to their flowing manes they still looked graceful. More importantly they flew through the air without wings.

As they came closer it became apparent that the leader, a dark-brown one, carried a rider. This rider quickly jumped off as the horses reached the ground. It was a woman with brown hair, dressed in a blue shirt and a black corset, along with a pair of dark trousers and sturdy boots. She immediately walked up and kneeled before Aslan.

"My Lord", she said and bowed her head. Aslan nodded, a motion picked up by the woman who rose once more.

"My child, this is Mary of Galma", Aslan introduced.

"An honor to meet you, Lady Freedom", Mary said with a bow.

"The same", Freedom managed to answer. Her eyes were constantly drawn towards the magnificent horses.

"What are they?" Mandy asked.

"Galma-horses", Mary answered. "They originate from the forest-covered island of Galma, where I am the only human present. They are magic horses able to fly without wings and speak telepathically with their chosen rider."

"Can't they speak like the other animals here in Narnia?" Mandy asked.

"No, not any more", Mary answered, her eyes dark. "Something has happened to them. I do not know why but I know it has to be solved soon or this might spread to other parts of Narnia."

Freedom had thought that her father would answer that, but instead found that he had turned and was by now heading into his tent once more. She immediately followed.

"Why did you leave?" she asked as she entered the tent. He turned towards her, now in his human form once more.

"If you are as powerful as people believe you to be, father, why did you not stay and talk to her?" Freedom continued. "She needs your help and…"

"The horses of Galma are not the only trouble we are facing, my child", Aslan answered and sat down on a chair. He looked tired, as if his age had finally caught up with him.

"There is much wrong with the world right now", he continued.

"What does that mean?" Freedom asked. He slowly turned his head towards her once more.

"You can only find that out for yourself."

He even sounded tired, she realized, and it frightened her. He was not supposed to be like this; he was Aslan, the Great Lion!

"What of the White Wizard?" she asked. "Who is he?"

"A very powerful man", Aslan answered and rose. "He fought a creature of the dark in order to save his friends and now he is believed to be dead."

"Do you believe him to be?" Freedom asked.

"I don't. And I do not think Lady Galadriel does so either. He is alive and we need him to be."

"But what if someone finds him?" Freedom asked. "I mean, we have the Galma-horses and eagles but surely those who serve the dark also have beings that can fly over mountains?"

"They do", Aslan admitted and placed his hands on her shoulders. "That is why I want you to find him."

"So, this seems to be an interesting start of the year", Mandy said and leaned back against a stone.

"What do you mean?" Edmund asked.

"I mean all of this; the portal, us being here, those amazing horses… and now that I'm on it, who is the White Wizard?"

"He is an old magician", Peter answered. "One of the last of a powerful race known as the Maiars."

"He was out on a secret mission of some sort a while ago and we only received word of that he was missing", Edmund filled in. "Now he suddenly turns up close to Caradhras; now that's a story I would like to know."

"Pete! Ed!"

That was Queen Lucy. She was hurrying up towards them with a smile on her face.

"Aslan will send out a scouting-party to find the White Wizard", she explained. "Also, Mandy, it's time for you and Freedom to go to Hogwarts."

"Finally!" Mandy exclaimed and rose, running back towards the camp. Freedom and Aslan stood together with Mary by the western edge.

"So, how do we get there?" Mandy asked. "Portal again?"

"Not quite", Mary answered. "The two horses I brought are called Spirit and Rain. They are yours."

"You have got to be kidding", Mandy gasped and stared at the two other horses. One of them was grey with white markings like raindrops all over its coat while the other was of a caramel-brown color, which darkened on its legs and nose. Freedom immediately walked over to the brown one.

"Do we ride them like this?" she asked.

"Yes", Mary answered. "Galma-horses are wild and free; they do not take easily to being saddled up. As their chosen riders you will be able to communicate with them telepathically."

"Amazing", Mandy said and walked over to the grey mare. Both horses lowered themselves slightly to allow the girls to climb up on their backs. Mary quickly checked that they kept a tight hold on the manes.

"Safe flight", she then said and stepped back.

"This is going to be absolutely amazing", Mandy squealed and turned her horse around. Freedom lifted a hand in farewell towards the crowd that had gathered and cheers erupted as the two riders took to the sky, heading towards the western mountains.

In the happy crowd no one noticed when King Peter turned around and met Aslan's gaze. None of them looked happy; they both knew that something bad was coming their way.

The landscape flew past beneath the horses and the ride was so smooth that even the smallest of children would have felt safe. They flew past fields, lakes and slowly the landscape turned rockier. The horses knew the area well enough to find a narrow pass between the mountains along a swift river, which widened after the mountains.

"I bet it will lead us to the lake", Mandy called.

"Mandy?" Freedom called back. "If you had the chance to do something that would benefit a lot of people but might cost you something, would you do it?"

"That would depend on the cost", Mandy called back, before she gave a happy shout. "Look! Look, that's it! It's Hogwarts!"

Freedom turned around and saw the great castle approaching in the west, its towers gleaming in the setting sun. She could not help but join in with Mandy's happy shouts as the horses slowly started to head down to the ground.

The shouts were heard by an old man and woman who had been aiming towards the doors leading in to the castle.

"Merlin, Albus, what is that sound?" the woman asked and gazed up at the sky through her square glasses. "The students are not supposed to be arriving until a couple of hours from now."

"Perhaps it is the two from the South that we allowed in this year", Albus answered.

"Would they really act like that?" the woman asked. "They are, after all, known to be of a sophisticated race."

In that moment the horses appeared over the courtyard and spiraled down in order to land. The two old magicians stared in surprise at the two young girls who jumped off.

"Wow!" the dark-haired one said. "That was amazing! Seriously, best ride of my life."

She turned around and spotted the two magicians, at which she gave a gasp.

"Oh my God, you're Albus Dumbledore! This is amazing, though I always imagined meeting you in a different way. But still; amazing!"

"How on earth did you get here?" the woman asked. "And who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Mandy Diamond", the girl answered. "And this is Freedom. She used to be called Lucy Diamond, but we just spent an awesome night and day in Narnia where we found out that she was in fact called Freedom and was the daughter of Aslan. Talk about an interesting start of the year!"

"You came from Narnia?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, didn't we, Freedom?"

She turned around to face her companion, a girl with golden hair. This girl had lingered in the background for the whole conversation and was by now back up on the horse, which had started to fly once more.

"Freedom!" Mandy called. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm going to get him, Mandy!" Freedom called back.

"What? Who? Get back here or I'll…"

She was about to head back to her horse, but Dumbledore grabbed hold of one of her arms.

"Leave her be, child. If she wants to come back, she will."

Mandy felt tears welling up in her eyes as she gave in and watched as the caramel-colored Spirit disappeared south.

"Are you alright?" Spirit asked telepathically.

"I'll be fine", Freedom answered. "I just… I feel so guilty, leaving her behind like that."

"It had to be done", Spirit said. "Perhaps next time she will come with you."

"Yeah", Freedom sighed. "Maybe."

The air suddenly seemed to take on the color of a soap-bubble, but then it all vanished. Freedom frowned.

"Was that the Boundary?" she asked.

"Yes", Spirit answered. "It is weaker up here, in order for birds and other flying creatures to pass. We are now flying over the northern wilderness."

Freedom looked down at the landscape below, a landscape of pale grasslands, woods consisting of pines and rocky areas of cliffs and ravines.

"No one lives here, do they?" Freedom asked.

"People can live anywhere", Spirit answered. "It's just a matter of finding them."

"But it just looks so terrible", Freedom said. "So… cold, in a way."

Spirit decided not to answer. Instead he increased the speed of the flight and steered off towards the east.

"Wait, what's that?" Freedom suddenly asked and pointed towards a number of pale streaks of smoke in the south.

"That's the Shire, home of the halflings", Spirit answered.

"But there's nothing there", Freedom protested. "What if there's fire down on the plains?"

Spirit snorted, something that Freedom had realized was his way of laughing.

"The halflings, or hobbits as they are truly called, live inside the hills. That's why you cannot see their houses, only the smoke rising from their chimneys. I'm afraid we cannot take a look at it from above, though, since we need to get to Caradhras as soon as possible, but one day we might pass it and you will see what I mean."

"This world truly is stranger than I thought", Freedom muttered.

"You haven't even seen half of it."

Spirit steered up so that he was flying over an old road leading towards the mountains in the east. As they followed it they passed villages, real villages with houses and not hidden buildings. Spirit pointed out one of the larger ones as Bree, a small city to tell the truth with palisades and well-made roads. According to the horse those who travelled on this road would often come to spend a night in one of the inns located in Bree.

"We'll have to steer of towards the south again", the stallion admitted as they passed by an old ruin up on a rocky hill. "I do not like the eagle's description of where he was, though; according to eagles the words 'close to Caradhras' can mean anything from the neighboring mountain to a mountain of the same range."

He seemed to hesitate in the air and almost stood still for several minutes.

"Well, let's aim towards the mountains and then scout them", he finally sighed. "I suppose that's the best way to do it."

He took off again, this time aiming south-east. As they flew Freedom thought she saw a group of gracefully designed houses hidden within a forest in one of the canyons created by a nearby river, but she quickly decided that she had been hallucinating. It had looked too beautiful to be true.

Soon after that Spirit was flying by the mountains, as close to the ground as he dared go without being noticed as something else than a large bird. Freedom shivered in the cold air and pulled her cloak tighter around herself.

"You see that mountain?" Spirit suddenly asked, causing her to look up. In front of them loomed three of the highest mountains she had ever seen, all of them covered in snow.

"Caradhras", Spirit clarified, "alongside Zirakzigil and Fanuidhol, the mountains of Moria."

"What's that?" Freedom asked and pointed towards the mountain known as Zirakzigil.

"The ruin of an old tower, built by the dwarves", Spirit answered. "Doubtlessly they have…"

"It looks like it's been torn apart recently", Freedom interrupted and squinted in order to see it more clearly. Spirit hesitated.

"You know, you're right about that", he admitted. "It looks burned."

He steered closer towards the ruin.

"This definitely happened recently", he said. "Look at those stones, they've not been harmed by the wind as of yet. And look, down there!"

Freedom turned around and saw what seemed to be a discolored patch of snow on an outcrop below the tower. As Spirit started to spiral down to land, though, she realized that it was not snow; it was a man, an old man with white hair and a white beard.

"It's him, isn't it?" she managed to say as they got closer.

"Yes."

As Spirit finally touched down Freedom swung her right leg over his back and jumped off. While walking up to the man she pulled off her cloak, despite the cold air. She knew that the man would need it better than her, especially since he was completely naked.

"Is he alive?" Spirit asked as also he walked closer.

"I don't know", Freedom answered. The old man certainly did not look to be alive; his chest was not heaving, meaning he was not breathing, and his blue eyes stared up at the darkening sky without blinking.

"Has he got a pulse?" Spirit asked. Slowly Freedom leaned down and rested her ear on the left side of the man's chest. At first she could not hear anything, only feel how cold the man was, but then she picked up the silent beating of a heart. She was about to call back to the horse that the man must indeed be alive when he suddenly gasped for air, causing her to scream and throw herself backwards. The old man blinked a number of times as he breathed, a little out of rhythm at first but slowly he seemed to get back to a normal speed. Freedom scrambled up to her feet and walked back to Spirit, suddenly afraid of the man. Also she had never seen someone wake up like this before and it definitely freaked her out. The man stayed still, though, and had even closed his eyes as he breathed in the clear air. In the end it was Spirit who drew his attention as the stallion snorted. The man turned his head and looked at them, a slight frown appearing on his forehead before he seemed to decide that he should trust them. From beneath the cloak he held out a hand towards them and, with the encouragement of Spirit, Freedom walked over and took it. The old man managed to smile as she knelt down next to him. He did not speak, perhaps he was still too weak, but his eyes seemed to speak instead.

"He's too cold", Spirit remarked and came over as well. "We have to get him away from here."

"Will you be able to ride, Sir?" Freedom asked. The old man nodded and slowly tried to get up off the ground while trying to keep himself covered with the cloak. Freedom quickly allowed him to lean on her and wondered how an old man could seemingly weigh so little. It was like carrying a man made of paper. Spirit lay down as close as he dared to without falling down on them and together they managed to get the old man up on his back.

"There should be a pass somewhere on the east side of the mountains leading to Calormen", Spirit said as Freedom took place behind the old man. "We should be able to get to Narnia from…"

"No", Freedom interrupted. "We have to get back to Hogwarts."

"What?"

"Please, Spirit. I need to get back before the sorting-ceremony. Besides, Hogwarts will be able to help caring for him until we can move him somewhere else."

Spirit snorted before he took off, aiming towards the darkening northwest sky.


End file.
